Grundfos pumps handle large amounts of fibrous process water – without clogging

AKV Langholt is a modern potato flour factory situated near Aalborg in Denmark. The company is owned by some 300 potato farmers, who in cooperation have entered themselves into an obligation of delivering the required vegetables to AKV Langholt.

The Situation
AKV Langholt, a large-scale potato flour factory based in Denmark, processes approximately 180,000 tonnes of potatoes each season. Besides potato flour, the end products include potato protein and pulp for feed. Naturally, energy efficiency is a key consideration at the facility - partly because reductions in energy consumption make the company eligible for public-sector subsidies for certain projects. A hydrocyclone system separates the raw material - the humble potato - into media of varying viscosity, and these substances need to be transported in an efficient manner with minimal downtime.

The Grundfos Solution
Grundfos installed 7 CR pumps, which fulfil a crucial function by pumping the various media to be transported. Steen Simonsen, production manager at AKV Langholt, is enthusiastic in his praise of the new Grundfos solution: “Our production plant has performed like a dream - with minimal downtime.
The new Grundfos pumps, seven in all, replace nine old pumps that were no longer financially viable.
The Grundfos solution costs only a fraction of a traditional pump solution, but even so, the purchase price was not the main benefit. We saw much better performance with the new pumps. And of course the fact that energy consumption was down by 50 percent was also important,” says Simonsen.